The very qualification of a work to participate in the exhibition is a great honour. For many, it is the beginning of an artistic career in this branch of graphic design.

An important element of the Malbork contest is the prizes. The highest awards are the Medals of Honour, monetary prizes, and the award of the Director of the Castle Museum in Malbork. Beside this, since four years ago the prestigious Award of the Chairman of the Polish Association of Visual Artists has been awarded. Since this past Biennial, the Golden Burin Award in the name of Henryk Feilhauer for the best copperplate print has been awarded, funded by the family of the copperplate print master.

Setting precedence in the 45-year history of the Malbork exhibitions and in the 55-year history of FISAE congresses, this year's exposition of the XIX Biennial was a congressional exhibition at the XXIX FISAE Congress in Fredrikshavn in Denmark.

A great artistic event accompanying the Biennial has become the International Jamboree of Exlibris Collectors and Artists. In the years 1992 - 2007 eight such meetings occurred. The organisers do their best to create the best conditions in which collectors and artists can exchange bookplates and have discussions - a well-lighted and spacious interior in proximity of the restaurant and cafe are set aside for this purpose. Also, they are welcome to participate in various attractions, which include touring the Castle, participation in the evening "Light and Sound" show and the evening gathering around the fire.

The Castle Museum in Malbork has been integrating itself in greater measure with institutions and associations of artists and collectors in Europe and around the world. This can be seen in the popularisation of our event and of the Castle by local publications and media, by publications documenting the bookplate exhibition around the world, and above all by the high frequency of participation by artists and experts in the festive openings of the Biennial and meetings. This is undoubtedly a positive sign in a moment when Poland is about to join the European Union.

The Malbork Biennial fulfils an important role in the development and popularisation of the modern bookplate around the world, which also has a huge influence in stimulating the creative and collector circles in Poland. The international meetings of collectors and artists have become a very important factor in creating a "fashion" for the bookplate, this exceptional form of "letter" written in the universal language of art. This unites people of the same passion, which joins them above all their differences.

The history of Biennial Exlibris in Malbork

Ex libris (Lat. "ex libris" means from books) is usually a small graphic print with the owner's name or the name of an institution placed on the inside part of a cover to substantiate belonging of a volume to a definite collection.
Ex libris was to protect a book from a thief, to express owner's proud and to decorate a book.

It has been existing since the first printed books appeared, which was right after the mid -15th century in Germany.

The researchers of ex libris found its progenitor in the ancient times from the 16th century BC as a faience plaque attached to papyrus scrolls with a name of Amenhotep III the Pharaoh of 18th dynasty. Next respectable progenitors of ex libris were established - an owner's crest embossed on the front leather covers of old volumes. For the next few centuries it served a book. The 20th century brought emancipation of ex librises and caused a separation between an ex libris and a book and its own life as an object of collections and exhibitions.

At present exlibris is proudly transported all over the world in collectors' portfolios by experts as an object of exchange, purchase which base is this special passion of gaining and gathering, and at last it is an object presented on numerous exhibitions in Poland and abroad.

International Biennial Exhibition of Modern Ex Libris organised by Castle Museum in Malbork is the oldest cyclic artistic event in Europe and in the world, which presents dedicated book signs. The collection of the Castle Museum in Malbork is one of the biggest and the best state collections of contemporary exlibris in Poland.

These two facts show the unique character of this event, not only as local, but as international one. It is worth mentioning that the 18th Biennial Exhibition of Ex Libris was presented by the Direction of MZM to the Ministry of Culture and Art as the most interesting museum event in 1998.

The history of Malbork Biennial started in 1963, when an exlibris competition, which was announced by a former Director of the Castle Mr Henryk Raczyniewski for a newly formed castle library, turned into a presentation of output of the most outstanding Polish and foreign creators in this graphic field.

Wojciech Jakubowski, an outstanding graphic artist graduated on Fine Art Faculty of Mikołaj Kopernik University in Toruń, a student of professor Jerzy Hoppen, had a great contribution in this concept. Jakubowski became the curator of the 1st Exlibris Biennial and fulfils this position until now.

The aim of Biennial, determined by its first organisers over 45 years ago, has been realised until today in much extended form. Experience gained by organising Biennials, an advertising campaign made by publishing invitations in well-known professional magazines and internet, sending information about Biennial and exhibition catalogues to e libris societies all over the world and personally to collectors, all these create prestige of Malbork Biennial and increase its importance among other events of this kind organised in the world. Increasing number of guests, artists and collectors arriving at the solemn opening of Biennial mainly from abroad shows a great interest in Biennial, especially in the last few years.

This interest in Biennial of systematically increasing number of collectors and experts created an idea of organising International Jamboree of Ex Libris Collectors and Artists on the occasion of Biennial. The idea occurred to be right. In 1998 and 2005 many outstanding experts and owners of famous dedicated book sign collections honoured the Collector's Jamboree with their presence, over 300 guests, among them 300 from Germany, Holland, Japan, France, Italy, England, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Ukraine, Belorus, Russia. There were present personally PhD Gernot Blum, PhD Emil Kunze, PhD Lars Stolt, PhD Ivo Prokop, Joop Peijnenburg, Agaath and Jose van Waterschoot, Prof. Andrzej Ryszkiewicz, Miets and Wout Meulemans, Mariett Hagedorn, Hartmut Opperman and many others.

The artists, who saw a chance for receiving lucrative orders and a possibility of the beginning of the existence in collector's portfolios taken all over the world, began arriving to Malbork as well.

Professor Andrzej Ryszkiewicz, an outstanding expert in Poland at present and the great Polish exlibris collector, wrote about the 1st International Biennial Exhibition of Modern Ex Libris in his preface to the exhibition catalogue in 1963: "This exhibition is an ambitious attempt and completely unusual in our conditions. It has never been taken a brave confrontation of the best world achievements with a wide choice of Polish artists' activities."

Next Biennial exhibitions confirmed that great necessity of brave confrontation. A number of artists taking part in the 2nd Biennial doubled, mainly from abroad (62 people). The artists from Japan (20 people) attended for the first time. The great graphic artists Józef Gielniak and Jerzy Panek, who had not made ex libris until then, were interested in participation in the Biennial.

Next Biennial exhibitions gather effects of good beginnings, as apart from the presence of increasing number of artists it attracted critics' attention and managed to make active museum collecting.

The Medal of Honour, awarded since the 4th Biennial (1969), has been a precious prize because of the increasing importance of the event and encouraged ambitious artists to perfect their technique and to find new formal solutions.

Martin R. Baeyens (Belgium), Anatolij Kalasznikow, Avo Keerend and Vive Toli (all from the USSR), as well as Lubica Koncekowa-Vesela (Czekoslovakia) and Polish artist: Stanisław Dawski, Wojciech Jakubowski, Jerzy Jarnuszkiewicz and Henryk Płóciennik received first Medals of Honour in 1969.

Since the 13th Biennial exhibition in 1990 apart from the Medal of Honour, the jury has been bestowing additional money awards and the Award of the Director of the Castle Museum in Malbork. The Main Board of Society of the Friends of Books gives its own award. In the last years there are also awards founded by private people.

The jury appointed by the Director of Museum in Malbork watch over the highest artistic level and significance and prestige of Biennial. The jury is also responsible for a selection of works classified to the exhibition.

Each time jury including art historians, critics, collectors, bibliophiles and artists assures that the selection of works taking part in the competition is professional.

In the jury of Biennial there were personalities of art world such as mentioned above Prof. Andrzej Ryszkiewicz, Ryszard Krzywka, Krystyna Wróblewska, Stanisław Dawski, Irena Jakimowicz, Stanisław Jakimowicz, Stanisław Töpfer, Wojciech Jakubowski, Tadeusz Przypkowski, Jerzy Jarnuszkiewicz, Janusz Mikołaj Szymański, Henryk Feilhauer, Mieczysław Rodojewski, Bogusław Mansfeld, Eugeniusz Get Stankiewicz, Klus Rödel, Martins R. Baeyens and many others.

In 1967 the survey of present artistic activity was enriched by retrospective work sets of particularly meritorious artists of the development of exlibris. This excellent idea became a tradition carefully treated by the organisers. Not only professionals are interested in the complementary exhibitions. In the last years we presented works of artists: Eugeniusz Get Stankiewicz, Henryk Feilhauer, Stasys Eindrigevicius, Aleksander Aksinin, Wiesław Szamocki.

The prestige of Malbork artistic events is increased by the place where they are hold - the Castle - an unusually beautiful and monumental object. It should be mentioned that this mighty military building, which is over 700 years old, was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in December 1997.